Educate me on CHEs Please

[nitrous12]

I have a 125W ExoTerra Solar Glo light in my 20ga enclosure. I was told I wouldn't need anything else as long as the night time temps in the house don't go below about 65. Long story short with the way my house is heated...65 is not typically an issue in the room the setup is in, but the potential to go a little below is there.

I know I need to get the proper thermometer, but today I have been placing a small digital acurite unit in different places to get an idea of my temps and it seems the cold side is not getting up to the desired 85.
So that along with the risk of dipping my night time temps below the threshold has me thinking about a Ceramic Heat Emitter. I see what the bulbs are from searching, but do they just go into a light dome like I have the UVB in? Do I need a stand for it or does it go right on the screen?

Thermostats seem like a great idea, but how do they connect up and work? Like how does it control the CHE in a way to back it off? And I am assuming I need to run a cable with a probe or something into the tank? If so, I am not sure how I would do that on my setup with the locking lid. I have cats around and I do not want to compromise the locking lid as its been working great to keep the curiosity OUT!

Been trying to research but I can only read so much on threads that may answer only pieces of what I need to know for my situation so any direct answers here are greatly appreciated!

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

You would need a snake rack thermostat to control a che easier. You can set it up easy enough

 

[Mushuandcricket]

I use the Zilla thermostat and it works great. You plug the CHE or whatever you use for heat into the thermostat plug.You plug the thermostat into an outlet .Then you set the thermostat to what temp you want. For example if you set it to 65 degrees it will not let the temp. drop below that. You have to give it a few degrees so to be safe if you want 65 degrees at the lowest I would set it for 67. It is amazing how it will keep the temperature at what it is set at. I use my temp. gun the first few days to play with setting the thermostat to get the perfect temperature I want. The nice thing is you don't have o worry about low temps it will kick on and it will only turn on when needed like a thermostat on a furnace in your house. There is a probe that you place in the tank that reads the temperature so you can place the in the center if you are focusing on might time heat or the hotspot for basking area etc. I also use heavy industrial Velcro that I purchase at Home Depot to hold up the thermostat . I Velcroed mine to the wall but you can Velcro it to the outside of the enclosure etc. If you want pictures of the thermostat etc. I will gladly take then for you.

 

[Mushuandcricket]

Also another option for heating an enclosure is a radiant heat panel. They are safer than a CHE as far as it provides warmth but is not hot to the touch like a CHE which you need to make sure is on the outside of the enclosure so your dragon does not get burnt as they the hot to the touch. You can purchase them at...
http://www.reptilebasics.com/index....n=all&search_str=+Radiant+Heat+Panel&x=7&y=11
Here is some more information on the heat panels if interested.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/radiant-panel-faq

 

[nitrous12]

I use the Zilla thermostat and it works great. You plug the CHE or whatever you use for heat into the thermostat plug.You plug the thermostat into an outlet .Then you set the thermostat to what temp you want. For example if you set it to 65 degrees it will not let the temp. drop below that. You have to give it a few degrees so to be safe if you want 65 degrees at the lowest I would set it for 67. It is amazing how it will keep the temperature at what it is set at. I use my temp. gun the first few days to play with setting the thermostat to get the perfect temperature I want. The nice thing is you don't have o worry about low temps it will kick on and it will only turn on when needed like a thermostat on a furnace in your house. There is a probe that you place in the tank that reads the temperature so you can place the in the center if you are focusing on might time heat or the hotspot for basking area etc. I also use heavy industrial Velcro that I purchase at Home Depot to hold up the thermostat . I Velcroed mine to the wall but you can Velcro it to the outside of the enclosure etc. If you want pictures of the thermostat etc. I will gladly take then for you.

That all makes sense. My only issue is with getting a probe into the enclosure. The lid locks down tight and I have nowhere to drop a wire in.

 

[nitrous12]

Actually, I may be in luck. In the back corners of the black plastic rim around the top there are what appears to be notches where I just need to knock the plastic out and it would be enough space for a wire to come down in. The lid still slides into the back lip to lock and leave that square exposed.
I think I can get this to work.

 

[Mushuandcricket]

Is it made out of a material (wood, plastic, plexiglass etc.) you could drill a hole into the lid?

 

[nitrous12]

No, the lid is metal with metal screening. Knocking out that back corner is the ticket. I am fairly certain that is what it is there for.

So my last question then, what do you put the CHE in? What type of light dome is best?

 

[nitrous12]

Looks like porcelain? I lied, I do have one other question...what wattage? It is a 20ga enclosure. I found an article that says use a porcelain lamp and 100watt will heat a 15" diameter to a 10" depth.

 

[Mushuandcricket]

Yes, a 100 watt CHE will be plenty for a 20G. For fire safety you need a lamp that has a porcelain socket as you stated to avoid a fire. You can purchase a reptile one from Zoomed etc. or get one at a feed store, Tractor Supply, or home depot. At the feed store they sell them for lights for baby chicks and ducks etc. Sometimes they will sell them at Home Depot. I personally like the Zoo Med ones verses the feed store ones because the lamp itself is smaller and fits nice on a limited space tank with all the other lights.What ever you purchase make sure it can handle a 100 watt bulb/CHE.

 

[PatsyB]

No, the lid is metal with metal screening. Knocking out that back corner is the ticket. I am fairly certain that is what it is there for.

So my last question then, what do you put the CHE in? What type of light dome is best?

Is it an Exo Terra tank? They have notches in the back that are for your wires. Theres a thing you just slide over to expose the notches. Keep in mind if you feed in your tank the bugs may be able to climb up your wires and get out through the holes. I just put a piece of packing tape over it and seals it right up.

 

[jarich]

Can you post a picture of your enclosure? Thats an awful lot of wattage for such a small enclosure. We might be able to help you arrange it differently to get your desired temperatures without drying things out so much.

 

[Mushuandcricket]

Wrong thread sorry!